In the days leading up to Query Kombat, I’ll be featuring guest posts from the judges on a variety of writing topics, from ways to polish your writing to common openings. Check back and follow me on Twitter to stay updated. Today’s post is from Lisa Koosis. Going Deeper: A Few Pointers on Using Deep […]
In the days leading up to Query Kombat, I’ll be featuring guest posts from the judges on a variety of writing topics, from ways to polish your writing to common openings. Check back and follow me on Twitter to stay updated. Today’s post is from K.D. Proctor. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px […]
As those chosen for Nightmare on Query Street are working hard on their revisions, I wanted to give some insight to the types of things I’m thinking when I read through contest entries. Keep in mind that I am NOT an agent. An agent’s ability to ask to read something is limited only by their […]
This year, I narrowed my wish list for PitchWars pretty significantly to help target submissions more toward my interests. I expected this would lower the total number of entries that I received – and it did, but not by much. At the end of the day, I wound up with more than 70 entries that […]
I’m so excited to have this guest blog from Jennifer Johnson-Blalock today. You all know I’m a total contest junkie, and I talk them up all the time. An agent has a very different perspective from me, both when I was a writer and now that I’m a host/mentor. Read on for some valuable insights. […]
The submission window is NOW OPEN until May 20 at noon. There is no cap on entries this year. If you don’t receive email confirmation within an hour of submitting your entry, contact us via Twitter and let us know. Kontestants will be revealed on May 27th, and the tournament will kick off on June 1st. IMPORTANT: […]
Query Kombat is back! First things first: You are all so very talented, you make picking extremely difficult for me. And since there’s no cap on entries this year, I decided to enlist the help of a very talented writer (and excellent critique partner) to sift through everything for me. Meet Kara! Kara Reynolds is […]
Bloggers Laura, Michael, and Michelle are back again to bring you the fourth annual Query Kombat tournament. The Basics Query Kombat will host 64 kombatants in a single-elimination, tournament style query-off. Entries will go head to head (one on one) with one another until only ONE entry remains. There will be a total of six […]
As a long-time contest junkie, one of my favorite parts is hearing the success stories (after all, contests are fun, but at the end of the day, that’s why we do this). I’m thrilled to be able to share with you this success story from last year’s Nightmare on Query Street contest. Karen McManus: How […]
I am ecstatic to announce that I’ve been asked to join Michael Anthony and Michelle Hauck as the third host of Query Kombat this year! (They didn’t even make me change my name to Mlaura.) Query Kombat holds a special place in my heart not only because it’s the first contest where I got agent […]
“Wit Beyond Measure is Man’s Greatest Treasure” The theme for this fall’s PitchSlam competition is the Hogwarts House Cup, and I couldn’t possibly be more excited to be Head of Ravenclaw. (Seriously. I may have cried.) Never fear: we’re not looking for the smartest authors out there. I really don’t have a way of judging […]
I know that, as writers, we tend to assume the worst. We’re an emotional, sometimes needy bunch. So when you get a form rejection from anyone, the immediate response is “I’m a terrible writer.” You need to stop doing that. Many of the mentors, including myself, said that a pass does not necessarily have to […]